By Mike Kocsis | 10 minutes read | Last updated: February 18, 2021 Categories: Hormone imbalance
Medically Reviewed by Dr. George Touliatos
Each year, millions of people struggle with the side effects and consequences of hormone imbalance. Hormone imbalance is a common issue, but the circumstances and side effects surrounding hormone imbalance are lesser-known. This is rather astonishing, considering that almost 50% of people suffer from the condition during their lives.
For anyone that is going through hormone imbalance and suffering the side effects, knowledge truly is power. When you know more about hormone imbalance, you will be able to combat the side effects and understand the condition more completely.
In this complete guide to hormone imbalance, we are going to walk you through all of the causes that surround hormone imbalance. With this knowledge in hand, you can understand the causes of hormone imbalance and work diligently to reverse or prevent hormone imbalance.
What is Hormone Imbalance?
Before you can gain an understanding of how to defeat and overcome hormone imbalance, it’s important that you understand exactly what hormone imbalance is. Hormone imbalance, as suggested by its name and what it is referred to as, is a condition in which an individual’s hormones are imbalanced and not at the proper levels. This might not sound like such a big issue, but if you know a lot about hormones, you probably can guess just how disastrous this can be.
Hormones are the chemicals that regulate and control our bodies in a number of ways, In addition, they play important roles in the everyday processes that we take for granted. For these reasons, it is clear that having the proper hormone balance is incredibly important. One of the most common issues surrounding hormone imbalance that people want to gain a deeper understanding of is what exactly causes hormone imbalance.
In order to truly understand what hormone imbalance is and how it occurs, you will need to know the causes. However, it’s a great start to know that hormone imbalance conditions are those in which the individual is experiencing a drastic decrease in their respective hormones, whether it be testosterone or estrogen. These hormones are essential to human health, making it a tough situation for anyone that is dealing with hormone imbalance.
Why is Hormone Balance Important?
While many people understand the significance of hormones as it relates to gender, not many people know that hormones are incredibly important to our health and survival. Without the proper balance of hormones, people will find it extremely difficult to function and could even have severe health conditions arise as a result of imbalanced hormones.
Hormones not only contribute to maintaining proper bone density, muscle mass, and sex drive but also have psychological effects. People that have imbalanced hormones are much more likely to suffer from depression and other mental health issues. Many people that do have mental health disorders are suffering from their condition as a direct result of imbalanced hormones.
If you care about your health and well-being, then you certainly cannot ignore a hormone imbalance issue. The ripple effect from imbalanced hormones can be vast and create a lot of damage not only physically, but in your personal relationships as well.
Causes of Hormone Imbalance
Though it is easy to understand why a hormone imbalance would affect a person negatively, it is not always so easy to pin down the exact reason that a person is experiencing a hormone imbalance. That is because there are many potential reasons why someone might be experiencing an imbalance in their hormones.
If you hope to combat hormone imbalance and make sure that you can overcome it, then you will need to be sure that you understand all of the possible causes of a hormone imbalance. Here are some of the causes of hormone imbalance and some information about why people experience hormone imbalance.
Natural Causes
The first type of factor that can affect hormone imbalance is natural causes. This refers to anything that happens with the body that is outside of the individual’s control. People that have a hormone imbalance tend to blame themselves and think that they are doing something wrong, but that is not always the case. In many cases, it can be a natural cause that is beyond the control of the person.
Though there is some comfort to be taken in the fact that it might not be your fault, the joy is short-lived. If your hormone imbalance is not the result of your choices or lifestyle, this means that it will be a bit harder to solve. That is because this can often mean that you are experiencing hormone imbalance due to a medical condition, natural, aging, or another illness that is interfering with the body’s ability to produce the hormones at the proper rate.
Here are some of the natural causes of hormone imbalance.
Hormone Production Organ Health Issues
One potential reason that you are experiencing a hormone imbalance is that the organs responsible for producing the hormones in your body are not working. In men, one example of this is hypogonadism, which is a condition that affects the testes and prevents the meaningful production of testosterone. This results in an imbalance and low testosterone. The same type of condition can happen in women and is not limited to any one organ. Any organ that is a part of the hormone system can cease to be working and cause hormone imbalance issues.
Decline With Age
Another natural factor that has a heavy impact on your hormones is your age. When you age, your hormone levels will gradually start to decline. This happens earlier in some people than others, and there is not a set rule. However, it is generally accepted that as people start to age past 40, the effects are felt even more.
Everyone will experience a natural decline in their hormone levels as they age, but for those that experience it a bit too early, there is a path forward. There are several treatments that can be used to reverse this and preserve your hormone levels for a few more years so that you might enjoy regular hormones longer.
Disease and Illness Treatment
One of the most taxing things that the body can go through is living through disease or illness and in turn, the treatment for that disease or illness. One of the strongest examples of this is chemotherapy. Individuals that are going through cancer treatment such as chemotherapy are going to experience detrimental effects on the systems and organs that contribute to hormone production and regulation.
Those that are going through other severe diseases and long-term illnesses may experience a similar thing. Often times, the only remedy to these situations is that the treatment is ceased or the individual overcomes their illness.
Other Causes
The good news is that if you are experiencing hormone imbalance, it may be a rather simple, albeit difficult remedy. There are many people that are experiencing hormone imbalance as a result of external factors in their life. This can include their diet, exercise, habits, and the amount of stress that they put on themselves.
Though it may not sound easy to simply change your behavior to make sure that you no longer have these issues, there are many that appreciate the knowledge that the hormonal imbalance is caused by something that they are doing, and therefore can be changed by altering their behavior.
Even if you are experiencing hormone imbalance as the result of factors outside of your control, improving these areas of your life may lead to a more balanced hormone system.
Poor Diet & Low Exercise
Believe it or not, your general level of health has a lot to do with your ability to produce and regulate your hormones. When your body is not in good health, it is not going to do a good job producing and regulating the hormones in your body. When this happens, you further worsen your situation.
So, if you are experiencing low hormone production or a hormone imbalance and you also have a tendency to live an unhealthy and poor lifestyle, then you may want to take a look at your various eating and exercise habits. These could be making it impossible for your body to thrive when it comes to hormone production.
This is true both in the short and long-term. Failing to take care of your body when it comes to diet and exercise is a detrimental factor in more ways than one. When narrowing down the reasons for why your hormone imbalance is occurring, you should prioritize this one to find out if it is something that you can control.
Lack of Sleep
Though many people do not realize it, the amount of sleep that you get on a daily basis has a very heavy impact on your general health. And, as we say, general health is hormone health. You cannot have good hormone health if you do not have good general health. The health of your general being is going to have an impact on your hormone production and the ability of your body to regulate your hormones. Without the right amount of sleep, it’s going to be very tough to have good hormonal health.
High Stress
Finally, one of the main external factors that could be affecting your ability to have good hormone health. Individuals that lead high-stress lifestyles personally or professionally are much more prone to hormone production and regulation issues. If you must live a life with a lot of stress, you should explore techniques and methods that will allow you to manage these factors more closely and make sure that your body is coping well with the amount of stress that you are putting on it. Failure to do so could easily interfere with your body’s ability to regulate your hormone levels and your general health.
Treatment for Hormone Imbalance
Those that are going through hormone imbalance are probably frustrated, and rightly so. Dealing with hormone imbalance is not an easy task and not one without its unique and extreme challenges. Having a hormonal imbalance can not only affect you physically and cause you illness and harm, but it can harm your relationships and mental health, as well. These vast effects are not to be underestimated.
Luckily, there are actions that you can take to improve your hormone condition. There are a few things that you can do to help your hormones to be balanced. Here are some of the treatment options that you have if you are going through hormone imbalance.
Hormone Replacement Therapy
One of the most effective and time-tested methods for treating hormone imbalance in individuals that are unable to produce an adequate amount of hormones is hormone replacement therapy. Through hormone replacement therapy, an individual can artificially regulate their hormones. A certified specialist can inject hormones directly into the body or deliver them in another way to the bloodstream.
Through this method, people have been known to regain their proper hormone balance and defeat the side effects that can come along with imbalanced hormones. Hormone replacement therapy isn’t for everyone, though. You should consult a medical professional and someone that specializes in this type of treatment to find out if you are a good candidate.
Lifestyle Changes
Regardless of who you are and why you are experiencing hormone imbalance, there are a few things that you can do to make your hormone imbalance situation much better. There are various life changes that you can do to not only improve your health but also make your body a better environment for hormone production. This includes cutting out anything in your life that could be harming your hormone production.
This could include smoking, drinking, diet, lack of exercise, too much stress, and other factors. If you are harming your body’s ability to produce and balance your hormones, there is only one thing to do–reverse those actions. You should try to eat healthy food, get more exercise, and manage stress in the best way possible. These slight actions could lead to you regaining your prior level of hormone production and regulation.
References / Further Reading / Study Material
https://www.eatingwell.com/article/7805452/hormone-balancing-foods-how-diet-can-help/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3079864/
Evidence Based Research
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References, sources and studies used alongside our own in-house research have been cited below, most of which contain external clickable links to reviewed scientific paper that contain date stamped evidence.
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About the Author: Mike Kocsis
Mike Kocsis has an MBA with a focus on healthcare administration and is an entrepreneur and medical case manager for Balance My Hormones Ltd which offers medical services in the UK and Europe. Mike has over 20 years of experience in the healthcare sector, much of that working with people who have hormone imbalances. Mike has appeared on podcasts and radio and is an expert speaker on the subject of hormone imbalance. He specialises in Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) and Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and has helped thousands of people suffering from hormone imbalances recover and regain control of their lives. You can follow him on LinkedIn and on the Balance My Hormones YouTube Channel.
Last update: February 18th, 2021
